Benefits & Facts
Benefits of Using ECO
- Eliminates waste from landfills
- Utilizes less energy in creation of new raw materials
- Brings products back to life
- Less utilization of natural resources and deforestation
- Eco uses products that have reached the end of their lifecycle – materials that can’t be incorporated in to any industrial product
- The composition of Eco consists of post-consumer and post-industrial materials, like…
Mirrors salvaged from houses, buildings and factories
Glass from windows, windshields and bottles
Porcelain from tiles, sinks, toilets, china and decorative elements
Crystallized ashes that come from factories furnace residuals
- Eco saves on the mining and consumption of natural resources
- Every year, the production of Eco is expected to re-use:
65 million glass bottles every year
2 million standard size bathroom mirrors
539K square feet of ceramic material
- Eco uses a resin with a 22% of vegetable origin, mainly corn, with less impact to air quality and less energy consumption
- Eco uses post-consumer recycled products collected in residential and commercial recycled bins, like office paper, cardboard, glass, plastics, cans, mirrors, porcelain
- Eco uses post-industrial materials derived from manufacturing waste or sub-standard products that have never been used, like broken glass from a windshield factory or defective ceramic from a sink factory.
Cosentino Manufacturing
ECO™ by Cosentino is manufactured at the Cosentino headquarters, located in the coastal town of Almeria, Spain. In every step of production from collating raw materials, to manufacturing, to transportation and installation, ECO by Cosentino has been created with the utmost respect and care for the environment.
The Process
The manufacturing process for ECO by Cosentino begins with the salvaging of post-industrial and postconsumer raw materials that have reached the end of their life cycle, including: mirrors from houses, building and factories; glass from windows and bottles; granulated glass from consumer recycling practices; porcelain from china, tiles, sinks, toilets and decorative elements; and industrial furnace residuals from factories in the form of crystallized ashes.
These materials are sourced from independent sustainable waste management organizations throughout
Europe where they undergo an extensive cleaning process which ensures that all glues, silicones and other hazardous materials have been properly removed. The raw materials are then sorted by category and stored in tower silos.
The raw materials are poured into a sophisticated five color mixer and combined with Cosentino’s
proprietary eco-friendly resin. This novel resin is composed of 22% corn oil. This resin is the result of a major research and development initiative and is unmatched in the surfacing industry. Once the raw materials and resin have been bound together, the mixture is poured on to a conveyor belt and compressed using a sophisticated Brentonstone® vibrocompressor system. Through this technology, the mixture is compressed at an extreme pressure of 3000lbs per square cm, removing all air pockets from the loose particles and creating a compact dense slab.
The slab is baked in an industrial oven for two hours. Once removed, the slab is left to cool for two days to avoid potential cracks or damage to the integrity of the product. After cooling, the slab is calibrated and polished with a diamond blade to add shine and lustre.
The finished product is an eco-friendly, highly durable, and extremely stylish surfacing material that can be fabricated for use in any residential or commerical kitchen and bath project.
Green Practices
In the manufacturing of ECO, Cosentino has invested in and developed innovative environmental and
conservation practices, including: minimizing dust emissions in all phases of production; purifying 99% of the Volatile Organic Compound (VOCs) factory emissions; using 94% recycled water in the production process; no usage of solvents to clean machinery after batch process; catalyzing all waste processes; utilizing modern settings and filtration systems; pursuing quarry restoration; optimizing rubble generation and natural erosion control; generating new vegetation and the propagation of native species surrounding quarries; and ecofriendly packaging and marketing collateral.
